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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

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by Léon Duringer (1862 - 1918), as Léon Durocher
Translation © by Grant Hicks

L'étoile du berger
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
L'ombre s'accroît et rampe vers la plaine ;
Du vieux clocher tinte et pleure l'appel.
Le vent du soir effiloche la laine
Des moutons d'or qui paissent dans le ciel.

Rentrons, ma mie, en suivant la saulée,
Ton corps mignon blotti contre mon bras ;
Un souffle tiède embaume la vallée.
Et nous invite à ralentir nos pas.

Arrêtons-nous, puisque la brise est douce,
Puisque la lune argente le chemin,
Puisque les fleurs scintillent sur la mousse,
Puisque ton cœur palpite sous ma main.

Arrêtons-nous près du ruisseau qui passe :
Cueillons les fruits du mystique verger :
Et qu'en tes yeux où rayonne l'espace
Brille pour moi l'étoile du berger !

Text Authorship:

  • by Léon Duringer (1862 - 1918), as Léon Durocher, "L'Étoile du Berger" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Paul Delmet (1862 - 1904), "L'étoile du berger", published 1900 [ voice, unaccompanied ], from Chansons tendres, no. 7, Paris, Éd. Enoch & Cie. [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Shepherd's Star", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 107

The Shepherd's Star
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
The shadow grows and edges toward the plain;
The call of the old steeple chimes and weeps.
The evening wind frays the wool
Of the golden sheep that graze in the sky.

Let us go back, my sweet, along the row of willows,
Your dear body nestled against my arm;
A warm breath perfumes the valley,
And invites us to slow our footsteps.

Let us linger, since the breeze is gentle,
Since the moon coats the path in silver,
Since the flowers glisten on the moss,
Since your heart pulses underneath my hand.

Let us linger by the passing stream;
Let us gather the fruit of the mystic orchard;
And in your eyes where space blazes forth
Let the shepherd's star shine for me!

Translator's note: the Shepherd's Star (l'Étoile du berger in French) is another name for the bright star Capella ("the she-goat") in the constellation Auriga. A famous painting of this name by the 19th-century French painter Jules Breton depicts a peasant woman returning from the fields at twilight as Capella rises in the background.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Léon Duringer (1862 - 1918), as Léon Durocher, "L'Étoile du Berger"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 124

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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